December 9

Read Hebrews 11-13, then Pray Psalm 24. A restatement of Hebrews 11:1 could be: FAITH is seeing the world on God’s terms rather than ours. Consider this as you read the stories of all the people in this chapter and then include 12:1-2 in the thinking! We fix our eyes on Jesus! He is Mt. Zion!!! (12:22-24)

December 10

Read James 1-3, then Pray Psalm 25. James was Jesus’ pragmatic half-brother (see Acts 15 for an example!). This letter is blunt, in your face and can make the reader feel like it’s all up to us. But zoom in on 1:5-6, and 2:23-24. The key word in verse 24 is “alone”. If faith is seeing the world on God’s terms (which we saw in Hebrews 11!) then that reality necessitates—by definition—a response by us to what God has already done for us through Jesus. For Jesus indeed climbs down into the pit to rescue us, puts us on His back and climbs out, setting us down, cleaning us off and then says: “follow me”. That moment, the moment of our response to that invitation, is what James is referring to here.

December 11

Read James 4-5, then Pray Psalm 26. James 4:3 is a source text for many a terrible sermon where the preacher shouts that we should only pray for certain things (essentially deleting passages like Matthew 7:7-11 and John 6:11-14 from the Bible). Zoom in on James 4:7 and go back and read it together with Ephesians 6:10-18, understanding that prayer is the act of engaging the evil one and all the forces of darkness in battle (see Daniel 10:10-14 for a reminder of how much is going on in “the heavenly realms” all while we are praying). When reading James 5:16 remember 1 John 1:8-9 and Romans 8.

December 12

Read 1 Peter 1-2, then Pray Psalm 27. Write 1 Peter 2:9-10 upon your heart forever. This is who you are. This is what you do.

December 13

Read 1 Peter 3-5, then Pray Psalm 28. 1 Peter 3:15 is a powerful reminder of our role in the world as we participate in the advance of Jesus’ Kingdom, all while constantly doing 1 Peter 5:7, trusting in the truth of 1 Peter 5:10-11!

December 14

Read 2 Peter, then Pray Psalm 29. Ponder 1 Peter 3:4-7. The notion of verse 4 is a powerful deception and is ever present in our culture as people construct origin stories (see Darwinian Evolution) which assume the world always was as it is now.

December 15

Read 1 John 1-2, then Pray Psalm 30. Contrast 1 John 1:1 and 2:18. The truth about Jesus is always being denied by those who are against Him, of which there are many: see 1 John 2:22-23.